


Some Other Life

by Stregatrek



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: B'elanna Torres deserves better than Tom Paris, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Harry Kim being a sweet nervous mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 22:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20514584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stregatrek/pseuds/Stregatrek
Summary: B'elanna and Harry, from the beginning





	Some Other Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [queerchickadee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerchickadee/gifts).

It had been easy for B’elanna and Harry to make friends. ‘Shared trauma,’ a ship’s counselor might have told them after the Ocampan hospital, but they didn’t have a ship’s counselor. Not that Neelix didn’t try, but he wasn’t exactly a fountain of healthy psychology. For B’elanna, the friendship hadn’t exactly been purposeful; it was just that Harry smiled so easily. He was so ready to see the goodness in people and in situations. Fresh-faced as a first-year cadet, B’elanna told Seska once, trying to sound more jaded than she felt. Seska had smirked, a knowing expression that made B’elanna scowl, her Klingon blood roaring for battle. That was the day she had broken Carey’s nose. Sorry, Carey.  


“Hey, I heard you had a rough morning,”  


Harry had a picture-perfect expression of sympathy when he caught up to her after she spoke with Captain Janeway.  


“You could say that,” B’elanna growled.  


"Well, if you want to talk, I’m here,” He smiled. “And if you want to punch, I, uh, know a great holodeck program.”  


B’elanna smiled tightly, shaking her head.  


"Maybe.”  


"Alright, well, just let me know. I’ll be- uh- around.”  


"Sure, Harry. Thanks. I’ll see you later, okay?”  


"Yeah,” He turned to go.  


“Harry,” She called. “I mean it. Thanks.”  


Stupid smile. “Don’t mention it.”  
* 

“Morning, B’elanna,” Harry dropped his tray of- well, his breakfast, anyway- across from her and took a seat. “What’ve you got there?”  


“Morning Harry. I’m just going over the fuel consumption reports, trying to come up with some suggestions for the Captain.” She put a slight bitter stress on the last word.  


He ignored it. “How’s it looking?”  


"Not great."  


"I'm sorry. Anything I can do to help?"  


"No," B'elanna said. "Sorry, Harry. I just have to make sure everything is right…"  


Harry watched her for a minute. Fuel consumption reports shouldn't be so stressful, he didn't think. "Everything okay in Engineering?"  


B'elanna looked at him sharply. "Yes." She said tightly. He dropped it, and chatted about inconsequential things until he had to leave.  


"You know what we should do some time," he said, "is visit San Francisco."  


B'elanna actually met his eyes when he said that. "I'd like that." She said. "I never got to see it as much as I would have liked, when I was at the Academy."  


"Then we'll go soon," Harry smiled and squeezed her shoulder as he stood up. "I gotta get going. Good to see you." And it was. It always was. He dropped his plate in the replicator and started to leave, almost bumping into Kes as he turned the corner. An idea bumped into him at the same time.  


"Hey, Kes,” Harry stepped aside with her, avoiding the flow of traffic. “Listen, I’m about to go on duty, but B’elanna looks a little tired, and I don’t think Seska or anyone is around- would you sit with her? I’m sure she’d like to talk to you,” He smiled, hands moving nervously.  


Kes smiled understandingly back. “Sure, Harry.” She patted his arm. “That’s very sweet of you.”  


He didn’t know what to say and offered a stilted shrug. “I just want to make sure she feels- everyone, I mean, I want everyone to feel welcome on Voyager.”  


Kes gave him a knowing look and walked away.  


It occurred to Harry in the turbolift that he may have handed B’elanna Neelix as well, and he smiled to himself. Oops.  
* 

"Hey, B'elanna," Harry called, jogging up behind her. "Heard you had a rough day. Want to talk about it?"  


"No," she ground out, not slowing.  


"Are you sure? You know, it isn't good to keep things to yourself."  


“Just drop it!” She shouted. “Sorry.” She balled her fists. “Sorry. I-” deep breaths weren’t helping.  


“I didn’t mean to push. You can talk about it whenever you’re ready.” Harry said, watching her with concern. She grunted.  


“I’ll see you later, Harry.” She turned on her heel and left. Her blood pressure was making her ears ring, but she still felt badly for storming away from him- she knew that if she looked back he’d be standing there like a kicked puppy. When she got back to her quarters she threw herself down on the couch and hugged a pillow to her chest, screaming into it until her voice was raw. Stupid ship, stupid starfleet, stupid quadrant… she wished she was back home, in the Maquis with Chakotay and Seska, doing something she could believe in. Not that she didn’t enjoy being an engineer on Voyager, the work was wonderful, but the people… She dug her nails into her palms, resisting the urge to punch the bulkhead.  


Eventually her anger burned itself out, leaving her exhausted. She got a cup of hot soup from the replicator and fell asleep before it was cool enough to drink. She had a dream that she was running, but she couldn't tell what from. Or what to.  


In the morning, she sat down across from Harry and before she could apologize he'd reached over to touch her hand for a split second, saying, "Sorry I was pushy yesterday. Truce?"  


She smiled.  
* 

Harry watched B'elanna go by the diagnostic bay, obviously tense- head ducked, arms moving stiffly as she walked rapidly. He wished he could help.  


For the moment, though, all he could do was crawl back inside his assigned Jeffries tube and do his part to keep the ship in shape.  


He whistled a few bars to himself.  


Hours later, back stiff and hands starting to cramp, he crawled back out and made a trip to the mess hall for a break and a cup of strong tea. Some Engineering staff sat down a table away, and while he initially took no notice, his ears perked up when he heard one of them say 'the Klingon."  


Heat rising to his face, he listened more closely, but all he could really make out was that there had been some tension in Engineering and B'elanna had shouted. Not unusual. He wished more people would take the time to know her, understand her background and her personality, listen to her talk about things she loved. Let her be herself. His hand clenched on the table as sad weight settled in his chest.  


"Hey, Neelix," he went to lean on the counter. "I've gotta get back and finish a project, but I'll be off in a few hours and I'd love to take some non-replicated food to B'elanna when she finishes up. Would you do me a favor and make that vegetable soup she likes?"  


Neelix beamed at him. "Of course, of course! Sounds delightful! I'd be more than happy to whip up a little something more exciting, a little dash of- of- ah,"  


"Thanks, Neelix," Harry said. "But I think the soup will be perfect. I know she really likes it."  


"Of course! What time should I have it ready?"  


Harry glanced at the chronometer. "Say, seventeen hundred? I get off about then, and I think she does too."  


"It'll be ready at seventeen hundred on the dot!" Neelix promised with an extravagant flourish.  


"Thanks," Harry smiled. "I really appreciate it."  


He worked fast, watching his hands move methodically through circuitry. Engineering extension courses, hallelujah. He whistled to himself. And asked the computer every few minutes to tell him the time. He thought about his girlfriend at home, how he couldn’t remember the color of her eyes, how he wondered if they might not be brown, like B’elanna’s. Was that horrible? It felt horrible. But it was distant. Sixty thousand light years distant, and he had the nagging feeling that she'd forgotten him by now. People could only go so long without news.  


People could only go so long alone.  


And he was thinking of B'elanna again.  


Done at sixteen fifty, he slipped out of the jeffries tube and hurried to the mess hall.  


Seventeen hundred on the dot. As promised. Neelix grinned hugely, and Harry smiled back. "Thanks Neelix. I owe you one,"  


"Don't mention it!"  


Harry rushed through the corridors, careful not to spill. He rang the chime for B'elanna's door with his elbow. "It's Harry," he said, interrupting the slight growl he heard from the other side of the door.  


"Oh. Come in!"  


The doors opened and he stepped inside, holding out the soup. "I brought dinner! Compliments of Neelix, but I thought some quiet time would be nice."  


The way B'elanna was looking at him was hard to interpret. Harry held his breath. It was a long moment before she quietly said, "thank you."  
* 

B'elanna wasn't used to anything yet. She was trying so hard. She was so tired. She stared into her raktajino and thought about getting back in bed.  


The door chime rang.  


Sighing but knowing it was good for her, she answered the door.  


"Today's the day," Harry said sans preamble but with a huge smile. "Come to the holodecks with me. Neither of us is on duty."  


She blinked. Some part of her had always thought that this was something they'd always promise to do and never get around to. But here Harry was, smile and all.  


"All right," she said with a tentative smile of her own. "Do I need to bring anything?"  


"Nope," Harry gestured her on, and she joined him.  


The holodeck doors opened and B'elanna remembered immediately the salt tang of San Francisco's air, the slight breezy chill even on the sunniest days. "Come on," Harry said. "I want to show you the concert hall where I played growing up."  


She followed him around a few winding corners, up a small hill, and they were there. It was unassuming, outside- fairly modern, subdued lettering. Inside was a small reception area and a concert hall clearly designed to maximize sound. She looked around with interest, imagining Harry Kim playing on that stage as a child. He looked melancholy. She wanted to take his hand.  


"You okay, Starfleet?"  


"Fine," Harry sighed, tracing his hand over the piano that stood off to stage left. "A lot of memories in this building. Well, in the real one."  


B'elanna put her hand on his shoulder tentatively. "I know you miss it."  


"Yeah." Harry sighed. He squinted into the dark auditorium. "My parents sat about…" he pointed. "There."  


B'elanna looked. "Right up front. They must have been proud of you."  


"Yeah," Harry smiled.  


"You'll have to play for me," she said.  


"Next time we come."  


He smiled brilliantly. "I will. But there are a few other things I want to show you first."  


The view from the top of the hill was beautiful in all directions, crisp wind blowing her hair around her face as she looked at the harbor, overly aware of Harry standing beside her. She could sense just how close his hand was to hers.  


"... and there's this little Greek grocery right down the hill, I used to go there all the time after school for snacks and things. Oh, wait until I show you this book store- it's sort of part-library, part-museum, but people still sell print books there, and it's just down the hill from this amazing restaurant, something-rose, they have all this garlic stuff, and a church my best friend's family went to. I would go sometimes, it's beautiful in there,"  


"It sounds lovely, Harry."  


The church was beautiful, the book shop okay, and the food just as garlicky as promised. The streets were steep, and B'elanna and Harry laughed at each other climbing them. They ran to catch a street car, and Harry took her to the pier as the sun set.  


The water was so close, and the air was getting cold. He bought her a bowl of replicated clam chowder in sourdough bread, and they shared it and fended off seagulls.  


"This has been really nice, Harry,"  


"Good," Harry said. "Next time I'll show you more of my neighborhood and things, but I wanted you to see San Francisco like I remember it."  


"Thanks." B'elanna said again. They walked back to her quarters. "I really appreciate it," B'elanna told Harry when they stopped outside her door. "You really didn't have to do any of this."  


“I just… want you to have something to look forward to, when we get back, you know?”  


B’elanna tilted her head and smiled quizzically. “Good night, Harry.”  


“Good night,” he smiled, watching her door close, and walked away softly through ship’s night.  
* 

"So. Chief Engineer."  


"Guess so," B'elanna said, sipping her drink.  


Seska cast a sideways look at her. “You know Kim only ever talks about that girl back home. I hear he even told Jenny Delaney about her.”  


“Well, I’m not Jenny Delaney.” B’elanna replied, used to Seska's roundabout way of coming at a topic. “And I’m not asking him to forget anyone. But we’re in the Delta quadrant.” And I'm Chief Engineer, she thought. Proud and daunted.  


“Hmm.” Seska took a sip of her juice and grimaced. “Prophets, that’s awful. Do you think Neelix knows what sweeteners are?” B’elanna laughed.  


"Just take care of yourself," Seska said, smiling in that sort-of-patronizing, sort-of-dangerous way of hers. B'elanna grinned back. Personally and professionally, she would.  


"I will. Thanks, Seska."  


They parted ways, Seska headed back on duty and B'elanna to review tech manuals before bed.  


An hour later, she was sitting alone in her Spartan quarters, thinking how did I get here when the door chimed. “Enter,” She barked, assuming it would be Chakotay. Seska, maybe.  


“B’elanna,” A smiling face preceded the rest of her visitor.  


“Oh, Harry.” She hurried to stand, turn around and face him fully. “What are those?”  


“Flowers.” he offered, a chagrined half-smile accompanying a slight shrug. “Well, it’s a plant, anyway. I asked Kes to grow me some for you- but I guess the Ocampa don’t give each other flowers,” He laughed. She could see him blushing, and it made her smile. “It’s to say congratulations; for making Chief Engineer.”  


B’elanna threw him a sharp-eyed smirk. “How long ago did you have Kes start these?”  


“Oh- well, I- I would’ve found an occasion for them. To brighten up your quarters a little.”  


She took pity on him. “Thank you, Harry; they’re lovely. In a way.” She held out her hands for the pot and turned away, trying not to set it on top of its own trailing tendrils. “There. Certainly adds something to the room.”  


They caught one anothers’ eye, looking at the odd stringy plant with its many airy fronds, and began laughing. It was the perfect thing, B’elanna decided. She wouldn’t have traded the moment for anything. “Thanks, Harry. I needed that.”  


“Don’t mention it,” he smiled. “It’s good to hear you laugh.” He blushed again, a little.  


“Do you want to sit down? I could get you-”  


“I’d love to have a drink, but only if it’s on my replicator credits,” he smiled. He was always doing that. B’elanna liked this one; it was warm and a little playful, perhaps a bit of an edge to it, but it made her feel… warm. She relaxed.  


“Ensign Kim, are you offering to buy me a drink?” She teased. His hands clasped and unclasped in his lap, and he chuckled awkwardly.  


“Who knew we’d revert to using money, in the Delta quadrant,” he said, “but yes, let me buy you a drink. Something nice, to celebrate your promotion?”  


“Bajoran Spring Wine,” She said.  


“Bajoran Spring Wine it is.” He smiled and stood, going to her replicator. “I’ve never tried this before,”  


“Oh, you’ll like it,” B’elanna said. “We used to drink it, in the Maquis- when we could get it, that is, but you’d be surprised how many runs to Bajor were made for information and Spring Wine.”  


“But no hasperat?” he teased, handing her a glass.  


“No hasperat,” She confirmed, laughing. He clinked their glasses together gently. “To our new Chief Engineer- doubtless the best in the Fleet.”  


“Or at least in the Delta quadrant,” she amended, and they both laughed. B’elanna liked this. Spending time with Harry was easy, comfortable.  
* 

Harry was overthinking. He knew this. But Tom didn't know that he knew, so he wasn't entirely shocked when Tom slapped him on the back one day and fell into step beside him, saying, "Harry, you're overthinking this!"  


"I know," Harry shook his friend off. "But I want to get it right!"  


"There's no wrong way- well, no, there definitely is a wrong way, but my point is that you'll do fine. Just go for it,"  


Somewhat unclear advice, but it got the point across. "Thanks, Tom. I will."  


"What's stopping you? That girl back home you left me with two Delaney sisters over?"  


"Actually," Harry muttered, "I didn't want to go because I didn't- well, the Delaneys are nice but they're not B'elanna. You were right, before, about my girlfriend. She's probably moved on. I've let her go. I don't expect her to be waiting, and I'm not going to either."  


Tom clapped his shoulder. "Good."  


"But I'd really rather you stopped telling everyone we went out with the Delaney sisters. _You_ went out with the Delaney sisters."  
__

_ _Tom laughed. "Okay, okay. You got it."  
* _ _

_ _“Hey, Harry, look at this,” B’elanna held out the PADD with the warp core’s radiation readout on it. “It was making this noise all morning- we had to realign it a little, but it sounded just like that piece you played the other night.”  
_ _

_ _His face lit up completely disproportionately to the weird gift she had just given him. “Wow! Coincidence, huh?” He played back the noise. “You’re right! That’s great, B’elanna, thanks for recording it for me! Do you mind if I keep this?”  
_ _

_ _“I need the PADD back, but I can send it to you,” She smiled because he was smiling. Oh, Harry.  
_ _

_ _“That would be great! Thanks! Did you get it realigned okay?”  
_ _

_ _B’elanna nodded. “Everything’s fine now, it was just a little field variance. I think we might have gone through a dense patch of background radiation or something like that.”  
_ _

_ _“Can that really make the warp core sound different?”  
_ _

_ _She shrugged. “Sure, there’s a lot of little things that can change how it’s operating. That’s why we keep such a close eye on it.”  
_ _

_ _“I’m glad Voyager has you, B’elanna.” He smiled, and she smiled back. “I’ve gotta get going, I’m on due on the bridge in ten minutes, but thanks again for that recording. It’s really something.”  
_ _

_ _“No problem,” She said. “Have a good shift!”  
_ _

_ _“Thanks,” He smiled again and half-waved a goodbye, heading for the nearest turbolift. When he reached the doors he looked back, and she was still standing there watching him. They both smiled again a little and Harry waved again as the doors opened, almost hitting an exiting Tom Paris in the face.  
_ _

_ _B’elanna covered a laugh and shook her head, heading for her quarters.  
_ _

_ _That evening, Harry rang her door chime. “Hi B’elanna,” He smiled. “Would you like to go for a walk?”  
_ _

_ _“A walk?”  
_ _

_ _“Sure, around the ship- Tuvok was telling me about the weird subspace patch we went across last night that would probably explain your warp core playing Cleare.”  
_ _

_ _B’elanna smiled. “A walk would be nice, thanks,”  
_ _

_ _Harry grinned and stood aside, falling into step beside her. “Did you have a nice day?”  
_ _

_ _“I slept for a lot of it, honestly. Read some of the tech journals we have- I’ve got to remember to ask whatever aliens we meet next for some of theirs. I’m going to run out of ours soon, and I don’t like the idea of being sixty years behind when we get home.”  
_ _

_ _“It won’t take sixty years,” Harry said confidently. B’elanna didn’t say anything.  
_ _

_ _“Besides,” Harry said, “You’ll bring back all the expertise of the Delta quadrant.”  
_ _

_ _“I hope so,” B’elanna answered. They moved closer together to avoid a crewmember rounding the corner ahead of them, and their hands bumped. B’elanna wanted to grab Harry’s, a thought that didn’t subside as they wandered the ship, talking about subspace and warp core resonance frequencies, transwarp beaming, and swapping stories from the Academy. She found herself trying to make him laugh as often as he made her smile.  
* _ _

_ _Away missions, even just to collect soil samples and some edible vegetables- edible before Neelix got his hands on them anyway- were a welcome break in routine. Harry asked the Captain (definitely asked, not pleaded, whatever a certain Tom Paris might say later) if he and B'elanna could be on the same away rotation. She smiled a little patronizingly at him, kind and too understanding, and sent him down with B'elanna.  
_ _

_ _The teams worked in pairs, rooting up vegetables and reaching high for apple-like fruits on moderately low-hanging branches. B'elanna watched Harry jump twice before giving him a boost- he grabbed the fruit he'd been aiming for and beamed down at her.  
_ _

_ _"Wow," he realized he sounded breathless and cleared his throat as she let him down.  
_ _

_ _"Uh, I didn't know you could do that," but he thought back to the Ocampan doctors and how it had taken three or more of them to hold B'elanna back even when she was ill, and it made sense. "Handy," he finished lamely, hoping he wasn't blushing as brightly as he felt like he was.  
_ _

_ _She gave him a long inscrutable look and walked off, circling the tree to find more fruit to pick.  
_ _

_ _Oh boy, Harry Kim, he thought to himself. Do you have it bad.  
* _ _

_ _“Hi Harry,” B’elanna didn’t so much sit down as conquer the chair, planting her elbows in the table and beginning to pick at Neelix’s… creation with her fork.  
_ _

_ _“Long day?” Harry asked sympathetically, sliding his own tray out of the way so he could lean closer.  
_ _

_ _“It’s just,” B’elanna shook her head angrily, stabbing her fork into the food on her tray like she was putting Excalibur into the stone. “I keep getting these looks, like everyone’s expecting me to lose my temper and hit somebody. And they’re right, I just might, and I don’t know how not to.”  
_ _

_ _Harry reached over and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, B’elanna. That must be really tough. Maybe I could talk to some of the crew down in Engineering, get them to-”  
_ _

_ _“To what? Quit having stupid ideas and staring at me? I don’t think so,” She sighed bitterly, loudly enough that the ensigns from science two tables away looked over. “Sorry, Harry, I know you’re trying to help. I just don’t think there’s really anything to do.”  
_ _

_ _“Well, if you think of anything, I’m always here,” he smiled sympathetically, and she knew he meant it. She smiled back.  
* _ _

_ _"Good morning," Harry said, meeting her in a turbo lift. This was getting ridiculous, he thought as they shared a smile that seemed ready to ignite the confines of the turbolift.  
_ _

_ _"Good morning," B'elanna said back. The turbolift started to move. "Doing okay, there, Harry?"  
_ _

_ _"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure."  
_ _

_ _"Well," the turbolift stopped. "See you around then? Maybe dinner?"  
_ _

_ _"Absolutely," His eyes lingered on her face, on her hair as she turned away, watched the set of her shoulders as she marched off.  
_ _

_ _Tonight, he told himself. After dinner. As long as neither one of them got food poisoning from Neelix.  
* _ _

_ _B'elanna noticed Harry's hands shaking as he scooped up forkfuls of the surprisingly palatable meal Neelix had made. "You okay, Harry?" She asked.  
_ _

_ _"Oh, fine, yeah. Good. Why?"  
_ _

_ _B'elanna chuckled. "You just seem nervous."  
_ _

_ _"Oh- no, no I'm fine."  
_ _

_ _She let it go for the moment.  
_ _

_ _After dinner, they walked through the ship, the now-familiar corridors. Stopping at favorite places, debating the merits of the holodeck.  
_ _

_ _B'elanna told Harry about a time at the Academy when she'd nearly been suspended for breaking a holodeck, and she didn't feel ashamed when he laughed. She laughed too.  
_ _

_ _Reaching the door to his quarters, he started to stammer. "W-well. Uh, goodnight, I guess,"  
_ _

_ _"Goodnight, Harry." She said, and neither of them moved. That strange hyper-awareness of him was in action again, the space between them crying out to be lessened.  
_ _

_ _"B'elanna."  
_ _

_ _"Yes," she said, too fast.  
_ _

_ _"Um, B'elanna, I'm-" Harry took a deep breath. "I love you."  
_ _

_ _She blinked. She hadn't expected him to just jump in like that. She smiled, feeling her heart lift like a shuttle leaving a planet's surface. It was a giddy sort of feeling. "I- I love you too, Starfleet."  
_ _

_ _Harry smiled. A thousand suns went nova to try and match the brightness. "Well," he said. "I'm glad,"  
_ _

_ _They stood there smiling at each other like idiots for a moment or two, and then B'elanna stepped closer, lightly pushing Harry back with a hand on his chest. "So," she asked casually, "what are you going to do about it?"  
_ _

_ _"I was hoping I could kiss you," Harry replied as they both stepped into his quarters and the doors hissed closed.  
_ _

_ _"I think we can make that happen."  
_ _

_ _B'elanna smiled. Harry cupped her jaw in one hand, the other grasping at her shoulder to pull her close. Her hands were on his waist, and it was perfect.  
_ _

_ _B’elanna growled into the kiss, Klingon fire in her smouldering, and she bit him almost on instinct. Then she wrenched away. “I’m so sorry,”  
_ _

_ _“B’elanna,” Harry reached for her, taking her gently by the elbow. “Are you okay?”  
_ _

_ _“I’m- am I okay, I just bit you- I’m sorry, I- I just can’t seem to control it sometimes. Sorry, Starfleet.”  
_ _

_ _Harry laughed, holding her gently from behind. “I don’t mind,” He kissed her neck softly. “Really, I just want you to be… comfortable. You don’t have to control it if you don’t want to. There are worse things than a little, uh... roughhousing with the woman I love.”  
_ _

_ _“You don’t mind-?”  
_ _

_ _“Nah, of course not.” She turned to face him and he kissed her gently. She could taste his blood. “And if I have to keep a dermal regenerator on hand, well,” he shrugged, teasing. “I’m sure the Doc would be glad to lend it to me if he knew what it was for.”  
_ _

_ _She shoved playfully against his chest. _ _

_ _“Don’t you dare, Starfleet.”  
_ _

_ _“I give,” he smiled. She tugged him in by the front of his uniform so they could kiss again.  
* _ _

_ _“B’elanna, what is it?” Harry’s voice was quiet but insistent, almost a perfect match to the low humming of Voyager at warp.  
_ _

_ _“It’s- it’s nothing.” B’elanna tried to take a deep breath without outright gasping. “Just a nightmare.”  
_ _

_ _“I’m sorry,” Harry reached over, reassuring pressure on her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”  
_ _

_ _“Not really. Maybe in the morning.”  
_ _

_ _“What can I do?” Harry asked softly. “I’m always here for you, B’elanna.”  
_ _

_ _She clenched her fists and tried to slow her pounding heart. “I- could you just- could you just hold me?”  
_ _

_ _“Any time.” She turned onto her side and he turned with her, reaching for her hand and holding tight. "Any time."  
_ _

**Author's Note:**

> My wife and I believe strongly that B'elanna Torres deserves so much better than Tom Paris and H O N E S T L Y  
Harry and B'elanna would have made so much more sense and been so much healthier and sweeter


End file.
